The college football world was rocked Thursday night when news broke that Trevor Lawrence tested positive for COVID-19. From the jump, Lawrence wasn’t going to play on Saturday against Boston College — in a game that proved to be a serious challenge for the Tigers.
Lawrence tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday; this meant his status for next Saturday’s matchup with Notre Dame was up in the air. While following CDC guidelines, the ACC requires players that test positive to isolate for 10 days. On Saturday, Clemson quickly shutdown the possibility of Lawrence — the nation’s top NFL prospect — playing against No. 4 Notre Dame.
Through the first six games of the 2020 season, Lawrence completed 70.7 percent of his passes for 1,833 yards (9.6 yards per attempt) and 17 touchdowns — all of which rank No. 1 in the ACC.
Without Lawrence on Saturday, freshman quarterback DJ Uiagalelei stepped up on Halloween — completing 30-of-41 pass attempts (73.2 percent) for 342 yards with two touchdowns. Uiagalelei will get the start up in South Bend, too.
My brother @Trevorlawrencee man love you bro wish you could been leading us today man!!! But I learned it all from you man thank you for always being there for me and a great example of a man to look up 💯‼️ https://t.co/ybuRI9KkZF
— DJ Uiagalelei (@DJUiagalelei) October 31, 2020
Earlier in the third quarter, Uiagalelei ran for a 30-yard touchdown, which sparked a Clemson rally. The Tigers, trailing by 15 at the time, scored 21 unanswered points and won in comeback fashiong.